Prisma Has Finally Added Offline Image Processing Though Only For iOS

That lag on the Prisma app really brought me down when I started using it. Sure the end result was beautiful, but I’m a millennial damn it! I need stuff faster! Luckily that won’t be a problem any more, at least for iOS users. Prisma has found a way to bring its fantastic technology off the neural net on to the smartphone.

Prisma, along with Pokémon Go, has been the breakout app of the year. Registering 4 million daily active users and over 52 million downloads, the app took millennials by storm. It implemented neural networks to transform their terrible selfies in to Van Goghs and Rembrandts. However, the success of the app meant that millions were trying to pimp out their profile pictures at once. This put tremendous pressure on their servers which broke down the photos bit by bit to transform them. The result: some times the app didn’t work.

iOS users can breathe a sigh of relief because their devices can now use Prisma offline. There’s a catch of course, you’ll only be able to use 16 of the 32 filters offline; the rest will be added in a later update. Android users should just wait for the offline feature. It could arrive as soon as next week (according to The Verge; TechCrunch says two weeks). But hey, since iOS users won’t be crowding the neural net as much, this will make the process much easier for you. But there’s more.

Bringing neural network tech to a smartphone is a pretty big deal. The Prisma team considers this update a breakthrough since, in their own words, “no team or company has ever done anything close.” Now this update helps people with little to no Internet access the most. It also frees up their CPU cycles by running algorithms locally. The most far reaching application of this tech is that in future, Prisma will introduce video.

Prisma had already been saying that video is coming to the app soon. Then came the release of Artisto, the Russian app that basically puts Prisma to video. But it didn’t quite meet the success of the original.

In the offline mode, according to Engadget, it takes 6 seconds for a picture to render on an iPhone 6S and a bit longer on the iPhone 6. That’s quicker than what you would get online on average but it depends on your phone too. As far as battery life is concerned, Prisma remarked that since using the neural net online was already a demanding process, the drain on power won’t be noticeably different offline.

The Philanthropy Filter

Prisma also launched a new filter. And it lets you contribute to charity. The Love filter asks you to donate $1 to charity when you use it. Prisma is partnering up with Elbi, a group that crowdfunds causes and charities. First in line is Post Pals. So each time you use “Love”, you’ll see the story of Issy, a four year old diagnosed with Leukemia. You can choose to donate $1 for her treatment.